Someday I'll Smile For You
by Riyu Akari
Summary: An unexpected turn of events leads Natsume to attend Mr.Narumi's masquerade party, something he'd never do normally. But perhaps there's a silver lining in the form of an auburn-haired girl. N x M, oneshot.


**I wrote this fic and posted it here a long time ago. I recently discovered it again and I was simply appalled by my own grammar and the various mistakes present in my fic. I wrote it in a hurry back then. So, I took the liberty to rewrite it. =D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Alice Academy. **

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Mr. Narumi strutted down the hallways of the prestigious Alice Academy, a warm smile playing around his stunning features. The smile was that of satisfaction – he was obviously very pleased with himself that day. It was mostly due to a brilliant idea he had thought of yesterday and he simply couldn't wait to share it with his students.

His students greeted him as he walked into the classroom, with the exception of a raven-haired boy who was seated at the back of the classroom with his legs propped up on the table. Mr. Narumi simply ignored that and instead placed his gaze on a cheerful auburn-haired girl who was beaming at him.

_Ahh, Mikan_. He grinned at the girl and stood at the centre of the classroom to share his magnificent idea with the rest of the class.

"Class, I have excellent news I'm sure all of you will be very pleased to hear."

The class, excluding Mikan, of course, shot him questioning looks and a student retorted, "Does that excellent news have anything to do with you getting rid of that outrageous outfit?" Mr. Narumi was known for his quirky ways and was often seen dressed in strange outfits.

Mr. Narumi overlooked that comment and continued, "I have decided to hold a masquerade party! It will be a night of dancing, partying…"

"Will there be food?" A somewhat expressionless girl with amethyst eyes asked, barely even looking up from the machine she was tinkering with.

"Why, yes, of course, Hotaru. There will be food and lots of it too! But that's not the best part, instead of it being like any other dance party like The Last Dance, everyone will not be able to recognize each other because we'll all be wearing these." Mr. Narumi put on a mask and looked at the class, awaiting their response.

The first to respond was also the only one to jump in excitement or show any enthusiasm at all. "Wow, it's all so exciting! And so mysterious, I can't recognize you at all, Mr. Narumi!" Mikan said, excitement clearing brimming in her voice.

The class glanced at Mr. Narumi and Mikan and shook their heads. It was just so blatantly obvious. The mask didn't do much to help conceal one's identity and it was evident that only a simpleton like Mikan would even be fooled by the so-called disguise.

The masks were distributed to everyone in the class and most of them flinched at the sight of it. The masks were something only Mr. Narumi would pick and even considering wearing. The raven-haired boy at the back of the class simply pushed the mask aside and sneaked a glance at Mikan, who was pestering his best friend, Ruka.

"Ruka, are you coming? Don't you think it's such a wonderful idea?"

"Uh, yes, I suppose so…" Ruka answered half-hearted, slightly flustered.

"It's none of your business if he comes or not, now is it? After all, he won't dance with you!" Sumire said with a loud harrumph. Mikan simply ignored Sumire and turned her attention to the raven-haired boy.

"So, Natsume, you coming?"

"Why would I attend something so idiotic? Now, run along before I decide to set your hair on fire." Natsume snapped and a small flame appeared in the palm of his hand. He was a fire-wielder and could command fire at his will.

Mikan stuck out her tongue at Natsume and walked away with Hotaru.

"That idiot of a girl…" Natsume muttered as he rested his manga on his face, preparing to take a nap.

The class emptied soon enough, leaving behind only Natsume and a certain mind reader. The mind reader chuckled as he read Natsume's thoughts and against his better judgement, decided to tease Natsume.

"I know you want to go to the masquerade, there's a certain someone you want to dance with, isn't there?"

Natsume shot a piercing glare at the mind reader. "Have you been reading my mind? You better stop it before you become a pile of ashes."

"I've read enough already to know that the girl you're thinking about is Mikan…"

Natsume felt his cheeks warm up a little as a hint of blush crept up his cheeks and before the mind reader could comment on it, Natsume quickly set the mind reader's hair ablaze.

It was then that Hotaru strolled into the class, with a glint in her stunning purple eyes that only meant one thing – pure evil. Hotaru had returned to class to collect something but instead, found herself witnessing and at the same time, videotaping what would certainly be Natsume's downfall.

_This would definitely prove to be an interesting advantage_, she thought. She said nothing and merely projected the video on the wall with one of her contraptions.

"Wow, Natsume, you can really see your face turning all red in that video!" The mind reader said, grinning.

"Give it to me. The video, give it!" Natsume snapped, the anger in his voice evident.

"No. And even if you manage to snatch this copy from me, it doesn't mean it's the only copy I have." Hotaru said, calmly. "I have another alternative for you though. Go to the masquerade tonight and I'll see to it that this video isn't circulated. Deal?"

Natsume clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. He had no choice.

"And oh, I'm in a rather generous mood today so here." Hotaru tossed a mask at Natsume. "It's a special mask that I invented. It should conceal your identity much more than that flimsy mask Mr. Narumi gave us. Have fun." And with that, Hotaru turned on her heels and walked away.

The night of the masquerade party came eventually. Natsume sat on his bed, deep in comtemplation. There was a part of him that really wanted to go to the masquerade with Mikan but there was an even bigger part of him that reminded him constantly that he was Natsume and he never did such things. The two parts of him were in constant contradiction and it caused him much irritation.

He finally stood up, donned the mask Hotaru gave him and took a look in the mirror. Hotaru was right – the mask did a lot more than any normal mask would. It altered his appearance, even his hair colour. Relief filled Natsume. He could go to the dance without being recognized after all. And maybe, this time, he could do what that smaller part of him wanted to do. He could dance with that annoying yet strangely adorable auburn-haired girl.

It was certainly a lively event and everyone seemed to be having a good time. The dance floor was filled with happy couples, dancing the night away. The musicians were entertaining and the dancers swayed to the rhythm of the music. Clinking of glasses and cutlery could be heard as the rest ate, chattering happily. Snippets of conversations could be heard and everyone was in a jubilant mood.

Mikan was already dancing with Ruka, whom for some miraculous reason, she managed to recognize beneath the "amazing" mask had provided them with. Natsume had walked into the hall and simply stood at the corner, frowning as he looked on.

Mikan had just finished her dance with Ruka as the music changed to a slower song. She looked around and spotted Natsume in disguise at the corner of her eye. _That guy, there's something so familiar about him._

Mikan quickly made her way to Natsume. "Are you having fun?" she asked cheerfully, a warm smile spread across her face. Natsume nodded. He wanted to dance with her. So badly.

Mikan held out her hand. "Let's dance. That's the only way you'll have any real fun!"

Soon, Natsume found himself on the dance floor, moving to the music with his hand on Mikan's waist. He felt himself blushed uncontrollably and willed himself to stop blushing but to no avail.

"You know, you sort of remind me of my friend Natsume. But I can't quite put my finger on it."

Natsume gulped. Thank God for Mikan's sheer idiocy and for Hotaru's amazing invention. "Oh, uh, so what's this Natsume like?"

"You don't know him? I thought he was famous in this academy. Well, he's mean and really rude at times. What I don't get is that he keeps isolating himself and refusing to turn up at any events like this one. It's as though he doesn't want to be happy. And that saddens me."

"How would you know if he's happy or not?"

"Well, for starters, he doesn't smile. You know, I really want to see him smile, just once."

Those words rang in Natsume's ears. Slowly, he felt his lips curve into a tiny smile. He remembered it now. He remembered what it was like to smile. What it was like to be happy, even if it was for a moment. He had indeed been denying himself those privileges for a long time.

He stared intently into her chestnut-brown eyes and smiled at her.

"Maybe someday, he'll smile for you…"

**The End.**

**_Reviews, perhaps?_**


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